It is frequently proven how nearly impossible it is to purposely design a product that will excite Gen Y and the Millennials. They are a temperamental crowd with an independent streak and the last thing they want is to be instructed by someone older than they are about what is cool. Found people have had that view for almost eternity and they have to decide for themselves.
This makes the process of designing a new product a bit of a crap shoot. But that hasn’t stopped anyone from trying – be they in the motorcycle business or just about any other. Enter the two-wheeled BMW electric concepts.
BMW hasn’t given up on the idea that these particular generations will ride free and embrace the electric two-wheel lifestyle on the new CE 02.
The company says the new machine, which appears market-ready, is neither a motorcycle nor a scooter but exists in a place between, a non-threatening place. This is important because BMW obviously suspects most members of the target market have likely never ridden a motorcycle or scooter before. The CE 02 is designed to be user friendly with big wheels and a low centre of gravity. It weighs 264 lbs and clocks a factory-spec top speed of 56 mph with a driving range of 55 miles.
BMW has tied the bike into fashion and creativity by suggesting owners will decorate the machine with stickers and tape. Interestingly, BMW has kept its own branding on the CE 04 to a minimum making the manufacturer label a less obvious feature. This isn’t your father’s BMW – or it might be but you won’t be able to read it anywhere.
The is another BMW electric concept also offered up, the Concept AMBY, which looks more like a bicycle than a motorcycle. However, the AMBY foregoes the idea that electric bikes need to be pedaled and only features pegs and a twist throttle to control speed which can reach up to 60 kmh which in many jurisdictions would require the rider to be helmeted and the holder of a motorcycle licence.
